BEST IN CLASS Griffi th Foods
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CREATING BETTER
TOGETHERHow Griffi th Foods is improving the food
industry through its commitment to shared value and the company’s purpose: blending
care and creativity to nourish the world.
What good is a company that doesn’t do
good? Offering a great product or service and
excellent customer service should always be
pillars in the foundation of any business, but
can a business also help make the world a
better place?
Griffi th Foods, a food product development
partner, is in the perfect marketplace to
contribute to the greater good.
Every day, millions of people around the world
consume the products that Griffi th Foods
assists in creating. From foodservice and other
food manufacturers to retailers and distributors,
Griffi th Foods has helped the largest and most
infl uential businesses in the food industry
develop some of their best-known products.
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“IF YOU LOOK AT OUR HISTORY, BEING A VEHICLE FOR THE GREATER GOOD HAS BEEN THE ETHOS OF THIS COMPANY.”-Brian Griffi th, Owner andExecutive Chairman
BEST IN CLASS
A BRIEF HISTORYEven in its early days, the company was a vehicle
for the greater good. Originally, making better
meat and bakery products through enhancing
fl avors, improving food safety, and creating
faster and more effi cient processing were the
primary goals of this food industry company.
“If you look at our history, being a vehicle
for the greater good has been the ethos of
this company,” shared Brian Griffi th, Owner
and Executive Chairman of Griffi th Foods.
He’s held a handful of diverse leadership
positions, moving from management of local
departments through various leadership ranks
over a 20-year period. Notably, he served as
the Vice Chairman and President of Developing
Regions before leading the company as
Chairman of the Board in 2015.
“This idea was instilled in the company over
many, many years, and specifi cally during the
tenure of Dean Griffi th, my father, who spent
over 60 years with the company.”
Griffi th Foods, previously named Griffi th
Laboratories, was established nearly a century
ago in 1919 and focused on “bringing science
to the food industry.” The company began
by blending spices for businesses in the
stockyards of Chicago and quickly grew.
The business has always been a private and
family-owned enterprise, a component that is
incredibly important to the Griffi th family.
“We are a fourth-generation family-owned
business,” he said. “There’s a lot of commitment
from the family, and we know our success is
truly due to the commitment of our employees.”
Global expansion followed shortly after Griffi th
Laboratories was established, with a move into
Canada in the 1920s and Mexico in the 1950s.
From specialty fl ours and meat seasonings to
unique coating blends and modern-day sodium
reduction ingredients, Griffi th led the food
industry with innovation, attention to detail, and,
most importantly, a sharp focus on improving
each and every product.
“If you look back at where the food industry
was in 1919, there was a lot of need. Griffi th
has always focused on food safety, quality,
and consistency, which has endeared us to our
customers since the beginning,” Griffi th said.
“Brian’s stewardship is vital to translating values
from generation to generation,” shared TC
Chatterjee, who was named the company’s CEO
in 2016. Before becoming CEO, Chatterjee was
the Chief Operating Offi cer, as well as Group
President across some of Griffi th’s fastest
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1919
March 2017 | thebossmagazine.com | 4
growing regions including Central and South
America, Asia Pacifi c, and India-Middle East.
“The conversation about family values
and culture continues today because the
company has been able to remain family-
owned. Because of this, the company is not
just surviving, but thriving. Our people and
the strong family values are the common
ingredients that have transcended multiple
generations of leadership.”
“OUR PEOPLE AND THE STRONG FAMILY VALUES
ARE THE COMMON INGREDIENTS THAT HAVE TRANSCENDED MULTIPLE
GENERATIONS OF LEADERSHIP.”
BEST IN CLASS
A REBRAND… DRIVEN BY PURPOSE And Griffi th Foods continues on its successful
streak. The new name and brand identity hit the
food industry in 2016 and was developed to fully
capture what the company is, what it stands for,
and how it helps its customers succeed.
But before the company began the exercise to
create a new identity, it knew the importance
of fully understanding and describing “Why We
Exist”—the company’s Purpose.
“When the Griffi th family decided to articulate
its Purpose, the primary factor was that the
inspiration for it had to come from within the
company, not externally; it had to be as true to
us today as it was 97 years ago, and if we had
it right, would be as true a hundred years from
now,” said Chatterjee.
“The most important question we asked was,
does it feel like Griffi th? Multiple levels of the
organization were involved, and it took about
nine months from start to fi nish to develop a
statement which captured the essence of what
has guided the organization for almost
a century.”
Brian Griffi th elaborated on the importance of
Purpose for the company.
“Everything fl ows from our Purpose. Griffi th
Foods’ values and sustainability platform,
together with our brand, defi ne who we are.
Sustainability ensures that what we do to
succeed leads to the responsible growth of
our customers’ and Griffi th’s business.”
Changing the name from Griffi th Laboratories
to Griffi th Foods was a deliberate move
directly aligned with Purpose. While
the laboratory designation spoke to the
company’s fi rst
century of food
science and product
development, the
new moniker speaks
better to the diverse
capabilities that
differentiate the
organization and
what customers are
looking for in the
food industry.
“The title of
‘laboratories’ seemed
to alienate a part
of our potential
customer base,
and didn’t include
the contributions
that many of our
employees bring
to work each day,”
Griffi th said. “‘Foods’
captures who we are
as a company today.”
The nuanced brand
identity resonates
across the world in
the more than 30
countries where
Griffi th operates. Just
like the recipes the
company creates,
Griffi th Foods’ Purpose
is to blend care and
creativity to nourish
the world.
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BEST IN CLASS
SHARED VALUE ≠ CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITYA large component of the company’s Purpose
is its focus on doing well by doing good in the
food industry. They are achieving this through
a focus on Shared Value.
“Shared Value is a higher version of social
responsibility and sustainability,” said Griffi th.
“As a food company, we see challenges as
exciting opportunities. How do you create
solutions to the world’s biggest problems?
“There are so many needs in this space: the
best, most sustainable methods to source
ingredients, how to deliver goods without
increasing our carbon footprint… the list is
nearly endless. Shared Value is the intersection
of social needs, business opportunities, and the
capabilities we have to support our customers
and our Purpose.”
Through Shared Value, Griffi th Foods aims to
capture, replicate, and expand practices that
support business growth while addressing needs
in the world, as well as challenge the company
and the food industry to evolve its thinking.
While Griffi th Foods’ Shared Value approach
may sound like many companies’ corporate
social responsibility strategies, Griffi th says the
company’s plan is more than doing no harm:
it’s about business performance by nourishing
the world, both its people and its resources.
A perfect example of this is the Griffi th
Sustainability Sourced (GSS) program, which
targets farm-level integration of the supply
chain. For the past four years, the company
has been working to source chili peppers, a
highly used ingredient in Griffi th’s recipes, from
Rainforest Alliance Certifi ed farms in India.
The chilies are integrated pest management
(IPM) and sustainably grown to limit the
amount of pesticides used, enable water
conservation, and protect the soil from erosion.
Farmers in the GSS India Chilies program
are trained to follow sustainable cultivation
practices which are guided by the Sustainable
Agriculture Network standards (SAN), and
receive other benefi ts such as access to
medical facilities.
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“SHARED VALUE IS THE INTERSECTION OF SOCIAL NEEDS, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES, AND THE CAPABILITIES WE HAVE TO SUPPORT OUR CUSTOMERS AND OUR PURPOSE.”
BEST IN CLASS
The program also utilizes mobile apps to track
and manage the use of pesticides, and has
introduced soil and water testing to maximize
return. These tactics are not only sustainable,
they have resulted in a value-added product for
Griffi th’s customers and create a higher valued
product for the farmers.
Additionally, through Griffi th Foods’ purchasing
practices of tracking the peppers from their
time in the fi eld until use in a recipe, the farmers
receive a higher rate of return through the
elimination of intermediaries, transportation to
market, and commission to selling agents.
Chatterjee shared that much of what gives
its Shared Value approach strength is the
supporting institutions with whom they
operate and partner. With a specifi c focus
on non-governmental organizations, private
enterprises, and government all working
together, Griffi th Foods can leverage its
strengths to solve signifi cant problems in a
variety of arenas.
SUSTAINABILITYThat’s where its commitment to sustainability
comes in. Griffi th Foods’ triple-bottom-line
sustainability platform—which is rooted in
people, planet, and performance and born
from Purpose—guides how the food company
behaves and ensures that what the organization
does to succeed leads to the responsible growth
of its customers’ brands and its own business.
“Each of the three P’s—people, the planet, and
performance—is crucial to our success, and is
driven by our Purpose,” said Griffi th.
Supporting its employees, their families, and
associations that are committed to serving
individuals living in its surrounding communities
is the foundation on which the company built its
culture of helping people.
As a food company, Griffi th Foods feels a special
obligation to alleviate hunger and improve
nutrition, and encourages its employees and
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business partners to be engaged citizens. For one
example of many, over the past two years, Griffi th
employees have come together to show support
for ending hunger by walking in food bank
organizations’ Hunger Walks.
With locations in four continents, the team
understands the importance of acting as good
stewards to the planet. Griffi th is reinforcing
its commitment to that promise through the
responsible administration of the Earth’s resources.
Energy effi ciency, water conservation, and
sustainable sourcing are the current focuses of
its planet initiatives for sustainability. In 2015,
sustainably sourced chilies from Rainforest
“PEOPLE, THE PLANET, AND PERFORMANCE—IS CRUCIAL TO OUR SUCCESS, AND IS DRIVEN BY OUR PURPOSE.”
BEST IN CLASS
13 | thebossmagazine.com | March 2017
Alliance Certifi ed farms
comprised nearly
50 percent of the
chilies used in Griffi th
products through the
organization’s “Griffi th
Sustainably Sourced”
program. By the end
of 2016, the company
expects to double the
current usage.
“Everything we are
looking to do furthers
the objective of
nourishing the world as
a responsible corporate
entity,” Griffi th shared.
“This feeds directly
into our Shared
Value commitment—
every decision we
make comes back
to our Purpose and
Shared Value. We
focus on mitigating
negative impacts in
a sustainable manner
which allows us to
stay sustainable as a
profi table business.”
Griffi th Foods’
continued success
is directly related to
the advancement of
its customers, and a
strategic approach to
business management.
The company is
dedicated to ethically
and responsibly
“WE BLEND CARE AND CREATIVITYTO NOURISH THE
WORLD”- Griffi th Foods’ Purpose Statement
March 2017 | thebossmagazine.com | 14
“THE MORE SUCCESS THE COMPANY HAS AS A BUSINESS, THE BETTER ITS ABILITY TO SUPPORT PEOPLE AND THE PLANET.”
“We’ve taken great care to make sure that our
sustainability platform wasn’t seen as ‘one
more thing we do,” Chatterjee said. “Along with
our core values, it is part of our fundamental
beliefs that drive our behavior as a company.”
This approach seems to be working. The
company’s 2015 sustainability report—Striving for
Better—is proof that Griffi th Foods is meeting its
sustainability goals. Turning many of its facilities
into Zero-Waste-to-Landfi ll designated buildings
and the fi ght against hunger are main highlights
of the company’s accomplishments.
In fact, during the 2015 Produce for Hunger
initiative, an annual event where all Griffi th
business units around the world create food
for direct donation to feeding organizations,
Griffi th Foods successfully produced and
distributed nearly 310,000 pounds of food in
13 countries. This was equivalent to more than
2,917,000 servings provided for the hungry
around the world.
growing its clients’ brands while maintaining
food safety excellence. The more success the
company has as a business, the better its
ability to support people and the planet.
“We found that the triple bottom line was an
easy way for teams to understand Griffi th
Foods’ promise of sustainability,” Griffi th
said. “It cuts close to the core of who we are.
Sustainability runs through the company.”
The company is also expanding the Griffi th
Sustainably Sourced (GSS) program. In
addition to the GSS Chili Peppers, Griffi th is
now sourcing GSS Sage from farms in Albania,
and is currently in process to develop the
program in some of its most used ingredients,
such as black and white pepper.
WHAT’S YOUR LEGACY?Griffi th Foods has proven to the food industry
that it is possible to be a sustainability-minded
company while also being successful. For
Griffi th, the culture the company has had since
1919 is the reason for it all.
“The idea of stewardship and our legacy is
bound to our Purpose,” Griffi th said. “I realize
the importance of this culture every day. It’s a
special place to work.”
March 2017 | thebossmagazine.com | 14
POWERED BY
GRIFFITH FOODS
One Griffi th CourtAlsip, IL 60803
Ph: 800.346.9494
www.griffi thfoods.com